Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. - 2 Timothy 2:15   The Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference is now thirty days away (September 18-20, 2018). We are looking forward to three rich days of biblical preaching, practical training, passionate worship, helpful resources, and spiritual encouragement. We believe it happens after prayer! The Shiloh Church is praying over the next thirty days for God's blessing for the Cutting It Straight Conference. Please join us in biblical prayer for this...

A friend and I talked about a conference we both attended, during different years. I told him about the year I attended. Then he told me about the year he attended. As he listed the speakers he heard, I asked about a particular name. I knew of this man’s ministry but had never heard him speak.  I inquired, “Can he preach?” My friend answered affirmatively and emphatically. “He knows how to handle the text,” my friend expanded. “And you can tell he’s been with Jesus.” The conversation ended there, because I did not say anything else. I could not. I...

  But he replied to one of them, "Friend I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me. Or do you begrudge me my generosity?" - Matthew 20:13-15   In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells the Parable of the Landowner: A landowner went to the marketplace, cut a deal with some eager looking guys for a denarius, and put them to...

  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15   I love the word of God. I love preaching and preachers. And I love the local church. For this reason, I launched the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference almost five years ago.The goal of Cutting It Straight was and is simple and straightforward:   To train, model, and promote biblical preaching and teaching.   Faithful churches start with faithful pulpits. To that end, this conference seeks to...

  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. – Psalm 84:11 Psalm 84 is about the heart of a true worshiper. It reads like a Song of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). But it is actually a song of trust. It is a psalm of the Sons of Korah. But we do not know who wrote this psalm. And we do not know the occasion that moved the psalmist to write it. But the message of is clear: Nothing in the world can...

What does the Bible teach about hell? To ask this question is to acknowledge that hell is a biblical teaching. That is an appropriate starting point for considering the doctrine of hell. A discussion about hell is not like a discussion about purgatory. Scripture nowhere states, affirms, or implies purgatory exists. It is a construct of Roman Catholic tradition, not a teaching of scripture. The doctrine of hell, however, is clearly a biblical teaching. You may not like what the Bible says about hell. You may not agree with what the Bible says about hell. You may not believe what...

  And a leper came to Jesus, imploring him, and kneeling to him said, “If you will, you can make me clean.”– Mark 1:40   The last passage of chapter 1 (verses 40-45), records the miracle of Jesus cleansing a leper. It is also recorded in Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 5:12-15. Leprosy was the most dreaded disease in the Bible. The term “leprosy” was used to describe anything from a skin rash to Hansen’s Disease (the modern name for leprosy). Luke 5:12 says this man who came to Jesus was “full of leprosy.” This was no skin rash. It was...

It was a joy to serve as President of the 2018 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Dallas this past week. The conference theme was, “Fulfill Your Ministry." Our goal was to challenge and encourage pastors and church leaders to be faithful to their calling to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in and through local church. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. - 2 Timothy 4:5 I am deeply grateful for the Southern Baptist Convention body electing me as president of the Pastor’s Conference in Phoenix last year and for the...

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. - 2 Timothy 4:5 We are only a few days away from this 2018 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Dallas (June 10-11), which kicks-off the Southern Baptist Convention each year. It has been joy, honor, and privilege to serve as conference president this year (The pastors’ conference presidency is an annual appointment. A new president will be elected at the end of this year’s conference.) With all the controversy swirling around the Southern Baptist Convention this year, I appeal to you to pray earnestly that...

Fulfill Your Ministry!   As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. – 2 Timothy 4:5   It is a joy, honor, and privilege to be the president of the 2018 Pastors’ Conference at the Southern Baptist Conference. The conference will meet in Dallas, Texas, June 10-11. The Pastors’ Conference kicks off the Southern Baptist Convention each year. It is geared toward pastors. But it is a blessing and benefit to all who attend. You are welcome to attend, even if you are not a pastor or a member of the...

This past weekend, I was scheduled to fly home to Los Angeles to join the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in celebrating 75 years of Christian witness and ministry. But flight delays and bad weather prevented me from even leaving Jacksonville. I was greatly disappointed. I was grateful for the invitation to speak at the anniversary banquet and looking forward to the opportunity to preach to the Mt. Sinai family I preached my first sermon at Mt. Sinai, as an 11-year-old boy. I preached every year after that, as an associate minister under my father. Then I preached to the...

What is expository preaching? Expository preaching explains what the text means by what it says, seeking to exhort the hearers to trust and obey the God-intended message of the text. It is preaching in which the point of the message is rooted in, aligns with, and flows from the primary meaning of the sermon text. I believe expository preaching is the most faithful way to preach the word of God. Understanding and practicing expository preaching helps the preacher rightly handle the word of truth. But it is also important to understand what expository preaching is not, as well as what...